{"id":6974,"date":"2014-07-18T02:04:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-18T02:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/vatican-bank-starts-second-phase-of-reform-effort-12177\/"},"modified":"2014-07-18T02:04:00","modified_gmt":"2014-07-18T02:04:00","slug":"vatican-bank-starts-second-phase-of-reform-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/07\/vatican-bank-starts-second-phase-of-reform-effort\/","title":{"rendered":"Vatican bank starts second phase of reform effort"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Vatican City, Jul 17, 2014 \/ 08:04 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- The Institute for Religious Works, or 'Vatican Bank', has released its annual report for 2013, announcing the start of the second phase of its intended reform.<\/p>\n

\tErnst von Freyberg, the outgoing president of the institute\u2019s board, said it will \u201ccontinue to serve with prudence\u201d and provide specialized financial services to the Church around the world.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe valuable services that can be offered by the institute assist the Holy Father in his mission as universal pastor and also aid those institutions and individuals who collaborate with him in his ministry,\u201d von Freyberg said in the nearly 100-page report.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tvon Freyberg will officially leave his position at the end of July. At the moment the Institute for Religious Works, known by its Italian acronym IOR, is in transition to a new president, Jean-Baptiste de Franssu.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tde Franssu\u2019s task is to lead the IOR through the reform\u2019s second phase, which will deal with the institute\u2019s integration into the Vatican\u2019s new economic-administrative framework.<\/p>\n

\tThe first phase of reform consisted in screening accounts and making updates to the institute\u2019s reporting standards.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tAs a result of the screening process, the IOR has ended around 2,600 dormant accounts and 400 customer relationship. The terminations reflect the decision to restrict customers to Catholic institutions, clerics, Vatican employees or former employees with salary and pension accounts, as well as embassies and diplomats accredited to the Holy See.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tThe IOR has suffered from several financial scandals and is working to increase its conformity to international standards of finance.<\/p>\n

\tThe annual report described a \u201ctypical customer\u201d: a religious congregation that operates in a developing country to teach children, provide health care or serve in a missionary capacity.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tIn order to carry out this work, the congregation \u201crelies on funding from other parts of the world \u2013 money that goes towards building churches, new schools, digging wells, or paying the salaries of local employees, for example.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tThe IOR \u201cserves the congregation by transferring these funds in a secure and cost-effective way, taking care of any necessary currency transactions, and guaranteeing compliance with anti-money laundering rules, embargo lists, and the like.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe institute has no branches abroad, and so it relies on \u201ctrusted correspondent banks around the world to transfer the funds on the customer\u2019s behalf.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe congregation will thus hold an account at the IOR in the Vatican City State where funds are collected for transfer, kept secure and conservatively managed until the funds are required,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n

\tThe report included statements by the IOR president, the IOR cardinals\u2019 oversight commission, and the IOR\u2019s head prelate.<\/p>\n

\tvon Freyberg said that the IOR\u2019s 2013 operating performance was \u201csatisfactory,\u201d though he said net profits and assets under management had been affected by \u201cwrite-downs and the reform process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIn 2013 the IOR showed a net profit of some $4 million \u2013 down from more than $117 million in 2012. Reform efforts added more than $11 million to its operating expenses.<\/p>\n

\tThe report discussed the fluctuation in the price of gold and in the stability of bonds, indicating that these factors are among the causes of the IOR\u2019s poor net profit.<\/p>\n

\tThe report also disclosed the earnings of the IOR top managers. von Freyberg, for instance, earned some $282,000 for his one and a half years as president of the Board of Superintendents.<\/p>\n

\tThe report examined the geographical concentration of IOR investments. Its assets and liabilities have been reduced in almost every country, with the exception of Germany.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cNo other countries represent more than five percent of total assets,\u201d the report reads.<\/p>\n

\tThe IOR\u2019s Italian assets have been almost halved, from about $1.58 billion to $925 million; the Spanish assets are down about 60 percent, from $796 million to $298 million. U.S. and Canadian assets have reduced as well.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican City, Jul 17, 2014 \/ 08:04 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Institute for Religious Works, or 'Vatican Bank', has released its annual report for 2013, announcing the start of the second phase of its intended reform.<\/p>\n

\tErnst von Freyberg, the o…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nVatican bank starts second phase of reform effort<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Jul 17, 2014 \/ 08:04 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Institute for Religious Works, or 'Vatican Bank', has released its annual report for 2013, announcing the start of the second phase of its intended reform. 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